Manufacture of bellows-tongue overshoes



C. H. MORRILL.

MANUFACTURE OF BEL LOWS TONGUE OVERSHOES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 14. 1919.

Patented Feb. '22, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I c. u. Monmu. MANUFACTURE or BELLOWS mucus OVERSHOES.

3 SHEETS-SHEETZ- APPLICATION FILED APR. l4, l9l9. 1,369,260. Patented Feb. 22, 1921..

UNITED sr'rss PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. MORBILL' OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS,'ASSIGNOR To UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, TIONOF NEW JERSEY.

MANUFACTURE OF BELLOWS-TONGUE OVERSHOES.

To all whom 2'25 may concern."

Be it known that 1, CHARLES H. MORRILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Swampscott, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in the Manufacture of Bellows-Tongue Overshoes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specifica tion, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to the manufacture of footwear and more especially it concerns rubber footwear of the kind known as arctics, particularly that type having high plied, after which the article, including the form, passes to the vulcanizing oven.

The time required to make a shoe under the method referred to 'is necessarily afiected by the number of separate pieces which have to be cut and assembled, and the durability and water-proof qualities of the shoe are also affected thereby, since the greater the number of joints between the pieces, the greater is the liability of some defective joint giving away.

The present invention has for one of its objects the production of a bellows-tongue I arctic with a lesser number of separate pieces and joints'than heretofore employed,

with a view to making overshoes of this type which will be as nearly seamless aspossible and at the same time uniformly well-fitting, and with a view to saving time in. making the shoe and increasing the water-proof durability thereof.

One objection to the usual bellows-tongue arctics is that in order properly to shape the shoe the part of the upper comprising the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 14, 1919; Serial No. 289,869.

' Patented Feb. 22, 1921.

vamp and front of the leg or top is made of at least three pieces having two vertical joints or seams. These joints extend to the bottom of the bellows and although usually so located that they j are covered by overlying portions of the bellows when the arcticis buckled, do not reliably. exclude moisture, since snow frequently finds its way underthe overlying folds of the bellows, andbecomes packed thereunder so that, when the snow is partially melted by the warmth of the foot, there is a tendency to forcewater through such joints. A further object of myv invention is to provide arctics of the high bellows tongue type 0 PATERSON, NEXV JERSEY, A CORPOBA- which Will be entirely free from joints low enough to permit leakage, as from walking besprung into the reentrant curve of the form. This substantially horizontal joint extends across those portions of the upper which form the wings of the bellows. The

result is that vertical seamsare eliminated,

thereare no seams low enough to be subject to attack by snow packed under the wings when the shoe is buckled, and a more economical cutting of the fabric can be made.

Coincident with the above mentioned ad- I vantages is the furtherone that the constituent pieces of the vamp may be assembled and. rolled .whileflat, the same maybe done with the pieces which comprise the facing or front of the leg, and also with those pieces which comprise thequarter and back of the leg, and then these three sections fastened together may be placed upon a form, for example, as describcdin my application filed January 16, 19 19, Serialv No.

271,397, and the operations of pulling-over,

lasting and sole laying performed, to which application reference may be had fora more detailed description of advantages such as the saving of hand'labor and enabling a more accurate and; uniform'production to be obtained at low manufacturing cost. i

A further object of thepresent' invention is to. facilitate manipulation during the manufacturing steps, particularly during the pulling-over and sole laying, and to reduce the weight of the materials to be handled up to the point of vulcanization. In this aspect, the invention utilizes a two piece form which is separable to provide a foot portion and a leg portion, and employing only the foot portion for the manufacture of the shoe prior to vulcanizing it, thereby avoiding objectionable weight and possible interference with the machine operations of pulling-over, etc., such as are described in theapplication referred to. After the shoe is completed except'for vulcanization, the leg portion of the form is inserted and connected to the foot portion toprepare for the vulcanizing step.

Heretofore the folding of the wing or bellows portions ofan arctic of the type referred to, and the closing of the buckles, to cause the top of the arctic to completely inclose, and conform to, the. wooden last or form, has frequently resulted in incorrect 1 folding of the bellows, which incorrect folding is then rendered permanent by the'vulcanization. To insure proper folding and to hold all sections of the bellows in correct and smooth relative positions during the vulcanizing, is another object of this invention. I attain this object by the employment of a crease former such as a shell of'thin metal, shaped to conform to the curvatures of the front portion of the inner form, the rear edges of its sides being located to define the rear creases of the bellows. This shell is preferably fitted in place after completion of the building of the shoe and the insertion of the leg portion of the form, and the sides of the upper or bellows-wings are then buckled over the shell. 7

A further characteristic advantage of this I feature'of the invention is that the shell protects the bellows-tongue from the buckles during vulcanization so that the buckles can not leave impressions in the surface of the fabric of said tongue.

Other objects and novel characteristics of the present invention will now be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one form of shoe manufactured according to my invention, the parts employed, and the method which may be practised in carrying out my improvements, and the invention will then be pointed out in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the vamp and laid out fiat in spaced relation so as to show the shape of thepieces as they are died out. It will be noted that a portion of the cash merette material of the leg facing has been torn and lifted up to expose part of the fleece lining 50, the full outline of which is indicated by'the dot-and-dash lines, aswell as to expose part of the reinforcing layers 51 of the wings 17, 18. It will be understood that the fleece lining as well as the reinforcing layers 51 are really continuous across the butt-joint 19 in the finished arctic, although for purposes of illustrationthey have been shown .in this figure as severed on .the line of the butt-joint;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the inner and outer forms which may be employed, the parts being separated from'each other;

Fig. 3 represents a transverse section of the shoe when assembled. with the parts of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2, the line of said Fig. 3 being in a plane just above the top ofthe foot form; I

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the shoe upon the inner form with the wings of the bellows open; 7

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating the crease former or outer former in place, the whole being in condition for vulcanization.

- The cashmerette vamp section 12 of the shoe and the cashmerette front of the ankle section or leg facing 13 are shown in Fig. 1 as laid out flat. In the process of manufacturing the arctic they are brought together so as to form the butt-joint 19 (Fig. 1), this butt-joint being backed by three pieces each of which extends across the butt-joint. One of these pieces is the fleece lining 50, the outline of which is shown in dot-and-dash lines, said piece extending from the top of the leg facing 13 nearly to the bottom of the vamp 12 and being cemented to the inside faces of the pieces 12 and 13. The other two pieces are the reinforcing layers 51. Each of these layers is cemented to the inside face of a completed wing 17, 18 so as to act like the fleece lining 50 as backing for a portion of the butt-joint 19 and is also cemented to the inside face of one side of the quarter 14.

In the present invention as exemplified in the drawings the vamp 12 is provided with wings 17 and the facing section 13 is provided with wings 18 which, when theshoe is built up to the condition shown in Fig.- 4, i are secured by cement'to the side margins of the section 14, said wings or margins forming part of the bellowsof the arctic. After the top of the arctic including the vamp, leg facing and quarter have been fastened together as described, the foxing 15, 16 is attached by cement. I V

The only seam or joint in the entire shoe through which any leakage of moisture could possibly occur. is the joint 19 where the upper edge of the vamp 12 and the lower edge of the facing 13"abut. This joint or seam extends to the side edges of the sections 12 and'13 so as to include the bellow wing'portions 17, 18. It'is. to be under stood, as has been explained above, that when the parts of the shoe are put together the usual reinforcing material 51 and fleece lining 50'lying under the outer cashmerette material extends across the joint or seam 19 to make that joint or seam impervious to moisture in substantially the same manner as practised in rendering all butt seams of articles of footwear of this type waterproof. 1

Connected to the forward edges of the quarter are suitable fastenings such as buckles of a usual type comprising tongue members 20 and slotted keeper members 21. In Fig. 2 I illustrate an inner form comprising a foot form 22 and an ankle or leg form 23, these two sections being separably connected. The upper or ankle form 23 is provided with a downwardly extending dowel 24 adapted to fit a hole 25 in the foot form 22. Said foot form has two upwardly and outwardly inclined spring dowels 26 adapted to engage inclined keeper sockets in themember 23. The dowels 26 are held projected as indicated in Fig. 2 by springs not necessary to illustrate, so as to remain engaged with the keeper sockets 27 when the members 22, 23 are brought together with the dowel 24: engaging the hole 25. The two members 22, 23 be separated by inserting any suitable instruments through the keeper holes 27 to depress the spring dowels 26 far enough to enable the member 23 to be lifted out of engagement with the dowels so as to be separated from the member 22.

In making the shoe all of the parts are assembled and the shoe built up many suitable way, but preferably according to the method explained in the application hereinbefore referred to, and then placed on the foot form 22, the leg form not being inserted until just priorto the vulcanizing operation. Consequently, the shoe is less heavy to manipulate during the manufacturing steps of pulling-over, lasting and sole laying, and there is less interference with the machines employed during such operations than would be the case if both the leg and foot forms were employed together. After the shoe has been completed except for vulcanization the ankle or leg form 23 is inserted in the upper part of the shoe as indicated in Fig. 4, the spring dowels 26 snapping into the inclined keepers 27. This is done to prepare the shoe for the folding of the bellows portions prior to being subjected to the heat of the vulcanizing ovens.

To insure proper folding and holding of the bellows during vulcanization I apply a device substantially of the form shown at 28 in Fig. 2. This device I term an outer former. It is represented as consisting of a piece of suitable sheet material such as thin metal shaped substantially as shown. It is to be understood however that its middle portion may be omitted although as hereinafter described the middle portion performs another function. Whether the device 28 is formed of a continuous piece of sheet material, or as a frame, its rear edges 29 serve, when the device is laid against the front portion of the tongue, to push that portion smoothly back against the inner form 22, 23, said rear edges 29 serving to the tongue wings as desired. This close fit a insures that the device will not interfere with the proper form of the wing portions which are folded over it when the shoe is buckled and being vulcanized.

The middle portion of the outer form 28 serves another purpose of preventing 1 the metallic fastenings from embedding themselves in the uncured material of the bellows tongue of the upper during vulcanization. In other words it acts as a shield which, fitting between the buckles of the shoe and the fabric, prevents said buckles from leaving an impression in the surface of the fabric so that, after the'shoe while fitted in connection with both the inner and outer forms as indicated in Fig. 5 has been vulcanized, then when the buckles are separated and the outer and inner forms removed, the bellows wings are not only correctly folded but the portion of the shoe above the instep is in perfectly smooth and unmarred condition.

It is to be understood of coursethat during the process of building the shoe any suitable reinforcements may be employed,

for instance, as indicated in Figs. 4: and 5,

reinforcement tabs may be employed as at 30 to strengthen the portions where the vamp and quarter and their foxing overlap.

The overshoe and the method of making the parts thereof and putting them together,

are not claimed herein but in application Serial No. 417,711, which is a continuation of the present application so far as common subject-matter is concerned.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new is: r

1. Means for facilitating the manufacture of rubber overshoes having metallic fastenings, comprising a form for the inside of a shoe and a shleld constructed and arranged to fit the front portion of the shoe behind the for use in the manufacture shaped to fit the outer surface of the front portion .of the shoe and spread said front portion into conformity with the inner form.

3. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of bellows-tongue overshoes, comprising a form for the inside of a shoe and a form shaped to fit the outer surface of the front portion of the shoe and having its rear margins located to define the rear creases of the bellows, folds and maintain themin shape during vulcanization.

4. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of bellows-tongue overshoes,"comprising, in combination, an internal form and an external form constructed and arranged to hold the bellows portions of the shoe in correct folded condition during vulcanization.

5. A device for insuring correct folds of the bellows-tongue of an overshoe, comprising a former shaped to present its rear portions in positions to deiine the rear creases of the bellows folds.

"(5. A device for insuring correct folds of the bellows-tongue of an overshoe, comprisa former shaped to conform to the curves of the front portion of the shoe and having its rear margins relatively located to define the rear creasesof the bellows folds.

. 7. A device for use in the manufacture of bellows-tongue overshoes comprising ashell having a'length and shape to fit over instep and leg facing portions of the shoe, the rear edges of the shell being relatively spaced to define-the rear creases of the'folds at the sides of the shoe.

8. A device for preventing the tongue fabrioof a rubber overshoe from being marred by. the buckles of the shoe during vulcanization, comprising a shield constructed and arranged to fit between the buckle of theshoe and the fabric behind said buckle.

9. A device for preventing the tonguefabric of. a rubber overshoe from being marred by the buckles of the shoe during vulcanization, comprising a shield shaped to conform to the front of the shoe and constructed and arranged to be held in position by the buckles when the latter are fastened.

shoe upon a form, inserting a shield between the fasteners and the shoe material, closing the fasteners, and vulcanizing the shoe.

12. That improvement in methods of making rubber footwear having bellows-tongues which consists in assembling the parts of the shoe upon a form, applying an outer form in position to define and hold the folds of the bellows, and vulcanizing the shoe while the outer form is in fold-holding position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

' CHARLES H. MORRILL. 

